RIM finds itself between a rock and a hard place when it comes to its users and services in India. The mobile market in that part of Asia is enormous and currently expanding, so RIM would love to see BlackBerry use rise there as the company continues its global expansion efforts. However, the security issues that have caused a major fiasco in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are also a big concern in India. In fact, the country’s leaders have said that if the Waterloo based smartphone maker doesn’t address the issue, BlackBerry services will be shut down.
On Thursday, India’s Home Ministry and Department of Telecommunications will convene to set a deadline for RIM. According to Time:
India’s concern over the misuse of the BlackBerry and similar devices to send encrypted data comes after recent, unverified reports that RIM agreed to set up a server in China to address the Chinese government’s security demands. The Indian Home Ministry is checking out those reports, which RIM has called “speculation.”
Catching wind of rumors that the BlackBerry maker is accommodating other countries, India is prepared to make some demands of its own.
Of course, this isn’t something new going on in that country. Its battle with RIM has been ongoing, and it’s now only getting more intense in light of other countries taking a stance against the smartphone maker. Time reports:
Whatever the reason for India’s sudden security consciousness, sources in the Home Ministry say it is “almost certain” that India will set a deadline for telecom operators to either get RIM to give security agencies access to monitor BlackBerry communications or shut down its services. The Indian government has been trying for almost two years to get BlackBerry to allow it to monitor, intercept or decrypt its messenger, e-mail and Web exchanges, which are sent through an encrypted platform. The Indian government may not have the power to tell RIM what to do, but it does have jurisdiction over mobile-phone companies operating in India, so it is turning up the heat on them.
Apparently this has been going on for two years, and it’s hard to imagine exactly what RIM will do if given a deadline since it basically hasn’t budged much during the past few years. It’s definitely going to be tough for the Canadian company as India is a huge mobile phone market and BlackBerrys would continually do well there.
[Via: Time]